Qasab

Origination of Qasab

Qasab was set up as an initiative in 1997 to revitalise the embroidery craft of Kutch and reposition its cultural diversity by designing a business model that could not only create sustainable livelihood opportunities for embroidery craftswomen in the remote areas of Kutch, but also become a platform for them to express their creativity.

From 1989 to 1995, the artisans organised by KMVS were getting the embroidery work through the government corporation, which almost came to a standstill in 1996. So the artisans of KMVS felt the need for an independent organisational structure which would not be solely reliant on the Gujarat State Handicraft Development Corporation. Qasab in Kutchi means craft skill. The Producer Company ensures that the artisans earn a dignified income and these creators of such exquisite embroidery secure monetary benefits that are rightly theirs.

Qasab has been formally structured and registered as a Producer Company owned by traditional craftswomen. It is a collective,socio-cultural enterprise comprising 1,200 rural master craftswomen from 11 ethnic communities spread across 62 villages in the arid interiors of Kutch. Ithas been for the last seventeen years re-interpreting and re-positioning the traditional embroideries of Kutch, building on the styles of each of the communities associated with the producer company.